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April 15, 2015

Ex-Blackwater Security Team Slapped with Long Sentences

Just early this week, a federal judges carried out a stiff prison sentences on 4 ex-Blackwater guards for being part of a 2007 Baghdad shooting that killed 17 Iraqis and wounded 14 others.

One of the ex-Blackwater guards, Nicholas Slatten, a sniper, was convicted of murder and received a life sentence. The remaining three, Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, and Evan Liberty, were each given a 30-year sentence for manslaughter and weaponry offenses.

Judge Royce Lamberth passed down the sentences in a proceeding, taking place in a courtroom where friends and family of the guards were present, along with a small number of relatives of the Iraqi victims.

Sentences given to guards involving weaponry charges and manslaughter were lower than what was sought after by the federal government. In carrying out the sentences, Lamberth said he weighed the seriousness of the crimes committed and the clean records of the accused.